So it has been a while since the family got together so Mum & Dad invited everybody out for dinner today at the local harvester. It was great day and William and Eleanor were both very well behaved, and a lot of fun. It was also a good opportunity to get the camera out again. Something I haven’t done for a while.
You can find the full set of photo’s either in the Photo Gallery or over on my Flickr page.
So last weekend was one of those great Bank Holiday weekends where we get that extra day that make a weekend feel like a real break. Unlike other Bank Holiday weekends however the sun was out and so were the BBQ’s. Saturday was pretty much a standard day spent shopping and catching up on household duties however Sunday was a real treat! Not only did we all get together for a BBQ at Mum & Dad’s house, we were joined by Lisa, Andy, and the new arrival, Sam.
Lisa had brought William a sports day set, that included bean bags (for balancing on your head), ties (three legged race), sacks (sack race), and plastic eggs and spoons (for the breakfast race). Well, William wouldn’t let us sit still and we all had to play, of course there was only one rule, William had to win. This wasn’t a problem however as we had all had a drink or two. I caught the whole thing on the HandyCam so keep your eye’s peeled over the next week.
Dad did a wonderful BBQ and Mum ensured all the trimmings were available and everybody had a fantastic time, but by the end of the day I think we were all totally shattered and a little red from the sun. Monday I joined Mum, Dad, Lisa, Andy, and Sam for a roast dinner. It was another hot day but it’s the first roast dinner I have had in a while and I wasn’t going to turn it down. It didn’t disappoint!
I didn’t take an awful lot of photo’s (70 odd) as I have been trying to play with the HandyCam more, the one’s I did take can be found over on Flickr.
Okay so I have been very lazy the last few weeks and haven’t bothered to update the blog! Well, I have taken a well deserved rest this weekend and recharged my batteries so to speak, so hopefully will be picking up my game a little.
So last weekend was Easter and a four day weekend to-boot. The sun didn’t show up until Monday but it was a good chance to get things done. Friday I caught up with house stuff and personal paperwork. It was nice to get that all out of the way and still feel like there was a weekend ahead. Saturday I met up with Dad for a spot of lunch and a catch up and bumped into a very pregnant Anna and Dave. Both fed up of waiting for Baby Birkett to show up. We had a good chat and caught up with all the gossip, and made some up when we had run out of people to pick on. Sunday we all ventured down to Katrina & Rob’s for a lovely Sunday roast and to wind the kids up to the point they exploded! (Pictures Here) Monday was another catchup day, but I chose to spend it playing around with the computer and scanning in more of the old family pictures (Pictures Here).
Last week was fairly mixed. It was a little manic mainly due to the fact it was a short week, but Thursday and Friday were slow, a sign that some of the projects haven’t really kicked off, and an indicator maybe that it’s going to get really busy soon! I had an all day senior managers meeting on Wednesday which further shortened the week. It wasn’t really my kind of thing, but it was a good opportunity to catch up with the other senior managers who I tend to speak to on a regular basis, but not really interact with in any other way other than work.
Yesterday was another catch up day at home, not that I really got much done. Today looks like going the same way. I did pop round to Mum & Dad’s this morning and install some power line network extenders to try and boost there wireless signal downstairs, however I think I am going to chill out for the rest of the day.
So after the normal busy and non desrcript week at work I was looking forward to the weekend. The week showed promise with the sun poking its head out enough to stop wearing a jumper and brave a short sleeve shirt, although I still took a coat as the mornings were chilly. Hey comfort over fashion these days! That”s just the way I roll 
The weekend didn”t fail to disappoint! Saturday was wonderful and I sacrificed getting completely hammered Friday night (called it a day after three glasses of wine) on the promise of sunshine. The boy did good! I didn”t rush up, but awoke leisurely at 09:00 ish, burbled around, and then headed out. I had most of my to-do list done by 11:00 and then took the car for a run. I do like a drive to nowhere session when it”s sunny and you can turn the music up and wind the window”s down. I popped by Mum and Dad”s to say hello and even jet washed the car (Not doing it again — that”s a rant). I am not quite sure where the rest of 
the day went but all I know is I didn”t stop until about 19:00. Saturday night I decided to chill in front of the TV but a million sky channels (another rant) and I still couldn”t sit still or find anything worth watching. So even though I said to myself I wouldn”t I ended up in front of the computer. I decided I still need to do *something* useful so I set about scanning more of the old family photos. I decided to concentrate on some of the ones that Mum had shown me, and as “Mothers Day” was on the horizon I couldn”t say no. It was actually quite cool as these were old black and white photo”s of my Nan and Grandads family, so as well as being interesting they gave me a chance to play as most of them were very faded and some were damaged.
Sunday morning I was awake with the birds, I did the few job”s that I had and then headed to Mum & Dad”s. I hadn”t been their long and Lisa and Andy turned up, closely followed by Katrina, Rob, and the kids. Coffee was the first order of the day and a good catchup. It wasn”t long and we started on the vino and hops. We sat around, chatted, and generally caught up. It was a very pleasant day but a little chilly and we moved between the garden and the lounge. We all enjoyed a fantastic roast beef dinner, cooked by Mum (Guilt) and sat around chewing the fat, before finally conceding to the real world and heading home to ready ourselves for work on Monday morning. Dam these weekends get shorter!
You can find the Photo”s here.
Happy New Year everybody!
Well, doesn’t time fly I mean 2009 already. Looking back 2008 was a busy year for me, but generally good. What 2009 has in store I have no idea but I have quite a few plans and goals, so no doubt it will be just as busy.
This year I spent New Year’s Eve with my family at my sisters house. It was pretty quite, but good fun. It was also nice to spend more time with my Niece and Nephew. We all had a really nice dinner and then got into the drinking. We all got up New Year’s Day a little misty and tired, but a good old fashioned cooked breakfast sorted out everything but the tiredness.
The last few day’s have been spend catching up with stuff at home and generally resting before going back to work tomorrow. I’m kind of used to laying in until 10:00 now and getting up and 06:00 doesn’t appeal to me in anyway, shape, or form. Add to that the fact that it’s so cold at the moment there is a permanent covering of ice on the car, and it just becomes depressing.
